Alarms

ando

Hey guys,

Any recommendations for a good alarm system? I don’t want to be spending a lot, just something that is sufficient in doing its job.

fletch

I got an alarm installed off these guys. Very professional job, they will come out to wherever you work, top quality Cobra alarm installed all for €299.

ando

hey fletch, cobra is a good alarm system yea? The last thing I want is an overly sensitive alarm, cause its like that on my dads car, a football bounces off it or a stong breeze and the alarm goes off!

fletch

ando wrote:

hey fletch, cobra is a good alarm system yea? The last thing I want is an overly sensitive alarm, cause its like that on my dads car, a football bounces off it or a stong breeze and the alarm goes off!

Since I got my alarm it has only been falsely triggered once ....when I was using a power hose on the windows, it triggered the alarm. Other than that, it has never gone off. It has interior sensors (which you can turn off if you wanna leave a dog in the car) & door, boot & bonnet sensors. They will also wire it in to your central locking system to make it remote central locking which is nice

bazz26

I would recommend a Cobra alarm also.

I have one for the last 4 years and it has not given any trouble. The sensitivity level can be adjusted on them too plus there is a nice feature on the fob where there is a panic button in the event somebody tries to attack you approaching your car. Hit the panic button and the alarm goes off.

Seth Brundle

whatever make you get, get a thatcham approved alarm system as there are so many crap ones out there!
http://www.thatcham.org/

fletch

bazz26 wrote:

I would recommend a Cobra alarm also.

I have one for the last 4 years and it has not given any trouble. The sensitivity level can be adjusted on them too plus there is a nice feature on the fob where there is a panic button in the event somebody tries to attack you approaching your car. Hit the panic button and the alarm goes off.

Oh and if your alarm is triggered, there is a cool feature whereby when you return to the car, it will tell you what sensor was triggered (through a sequence of beeps)
@kbannon - Is there anywhere on Thatcham's website that lists their approved alarms? I just can't seem to find it

Seth Brundle

http://www.thatcham.org/resources/pdfs/compliance.pdf

Big Nelly

Got a mate who installs alarms....about 250 but cant remember alarm but it was top of the range one....in Cavan thou if that is any use to you?

stratos

Alarm fitted stickers...6 euro's... look on internet how to build flashing l.e.d .circuit...5 euro's. hanbrake gear lever lock 35... euro's. Sleep well at night Priceless.... for everything else there's mastercard

bazz26

A sure give away that you don't have an alarm - gear stick lock irrespective of any alarm stickers or DIY flashing leds. They won't take your car but take anything valuable you have inside it. It doesn't take a trained eye to see whether a car has a real alarm or not.

These days new cars are pretty well protected from being stolen with imobilisers, deadlocks or even integrated radios etc. An alarm is more of a deterant from having valuables inside stolen. A professional car thief will take your car if he really wants it, an opportunist thief will try and take something from it without attracting attention.

Stephen

Make sure you let your insurance company know when you get the alarm installed - they should knock a little bit off your premium, unless your policy is third party only.

ando

Good tip Stephen, I never taught of that

bazz26 wrote:

A sure give away that you don't have an alarm - gear stick lock irrespective

Ah I wouldn’t fully agree with that. Being from the NorthSide I've had my share bit of meeting guys that used to joyride, and they used to tell me the more visible deterrents you have, the less likely they would take your car. They'll have it if they really want it, IE breaking into your house and getting the keys but the rest, they'll just pass on to the next car

Anyhow, I've put in an order for a Cobra system from the guys Fletch recommended

fletch

So ando....did you get yer alarm installed yet?

Ratchet

stratos wrote:

Alarm fitted stickers...6 euro's... look on internet how to build flashing l.e.d .circuit...5 euro's. hanbrake gear lever lock 35... euro's. Sleep well at night Priceless.... for everything else there's mastercard

big mo fo chain 40 yoyo's , look on the face of little bastard0 without hacksaw in his pocket

pricelless

Seth Brundle

stratos wrote:

Alarm fitted stickers...6 euro's... look on internet how to build flashing l.e.d .circuit...5 euro's. hanbrake gear lever lock 35... euro's. Sleep well at night Priceless.... for everything else there's mastercard

My father's 1989 omega (no alarm) was taken from outside their house a good few years back. He had a yellow gearstick lock on it (can't remember brand but they are the main ones).
Anyway, the local garda said that they break with a good swift heel kick and weren't worth a shíte!

fletch

kbannon wrote:

My father's 1989 omega (no alarm) was taken from outside their house a good few years back. He had a yellow gearstick lock on it (can't remember brand but they are the main ones).
Anyway, the local garda said that they break with a good swift heel kick and weren't worth a shíte!

Yeh seen them remove them in less than 3 secs in tests...wouldn't be bothered with em tbh

ando

fletch wrote:

So ando....did you get yer alarm installed yet?

Yea but the lad that turned up didnt have a Cobra system. He had a MED 5000 system (www.med-italy.com), he said that Cobra were becoming very messy to deal with in Ireland so they are trying not to use their equipment anymore. I dunno, it could be complete bull$hit but I agreed to let the chap install the MED alarm. Install went okish, I had to call him back 1 hour after he left to fix my indicators that had stopped working, but it was sorted very quick.

The alarm itself, well it goes off when you open the door or boot! and when you switch the alarm off, it beeps a few times to tell you why it was going off, and what exactly was the problem. It also has its own powersupply so if someone cuts the power from the car battery, the alarm still has its own supply of power. I've also been given a code incase my remote stops working (alarm was intigrated into my remote central locking, so I have no extra keys or controls on my bunch of keys). It comes with 2 yrs warrenty so I'm pretty pleased on how it went

except I gave him 300 but he never gave me the 1 euro change :rolleyes: off to the small claims court I go

Farls

I know you have your alarm already fitted but IMO the clifford range of alarms are the best you can get. especially the G4 or G5, their not hard fitted either for anyone who's interested in wiring and their car.

With clifford alarms as well you can get the base system and then add on extra bits and pieces like remote start, door opening etc...

On a side note never put a sticker in the window of your car with "Cobra protected" etc. in it, you might as well give skangers the keys.

Farlz

fletch

Farls wrote:

On a side note never put a sticker in the window of your car with "Cobra protected" etc. in it, you might as well give skangers the keys.
Farlz

Do you mean if you don't have an alarm installed?

Farls

Either way, people (skangers inc.) are more afraid of the unknown

ando

I had to reread that Farls but it kinda makes sence. If any scanger walks by the car he'll see two LED's flashing and not know what it is, I might just take the stickers off

fletch

ando wrote:

I had to reread that Farls but it kinda makes sence. If any scanger walks by the car he'll see two LED's flashing and not know what it is, I might just take the stickers off

I don't know if I would agree with ya Farls but then again I don't really understand the mindset of a Skanger (not suggesting you do) but personally I don't think they would even look for a silly little sticker...they are going to notice the flashing L.E.D.s first IMO

Ratchet

fletch wrote:

I don't know if I would agree with ya Farls but then again I don't really understand the mindset of a Skanger (not suggesting you do) but personally I don't think they would even look for a silly little sticker...they are going to notice the flashing L.E.D.s first IMO

dummy LED doesn't provide security but for what it cost is great thing, saying this my car was nearly gone from my driveway(no alarm just LED and steering lock arm)

it is very easy to test if the alarm is there or not and if you can see any motion sensors.

next best thing to alarm is DIY immobilizer or chain, which is much better then this funny gearstick locks or steering wheel locks which are actually help to snap car's steering column lock